Don Baylor’s 2003 diagnosis with a cancer that weakens bones provides a more logical explanation for what appeared to be a freakish broken leg suffered by the Angels hitting coach Monday night.

Baylor, 64, innocently shifted weight to his right leg while catching a ceremonial first pitch before the Angels’ 10-3 loss to the Mariners when the leg buckled, fracturing his femur.

“It got me sick seeing that when I was warming up in the dugout,” Angels center fielder Mike Trout said. “He’s just such a great guy. You hate to see something like that.”

One day after his debut with the Angels, Baylor will have surgery for an injury that typically takes four to six months to completely heal.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said after Monday’s loss that the team isn’t sure who will fill Baylor’s role in the interim.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Don right now,” Scioscia said. “Obviously a freak (thing). We’ll see how it turns out. Obviously, he was in a lot of pain.”

Baylor, a former manager of the Rockies and Cubs following a 19-year playing career highlighted by his 1979 MVP award with the Angels, survived multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer for which there is no cure. The blood disorder related to lymphoma and leukemia produces cells that crowd out normal blood cells in bone marrow and dissolve areas of bone, making them more susceptible to breaking.

Baylor was catching the ceremonial first pitch from Vladimir Guerrero, the only other Angel to win an MVP award, in a kneeling position when he leaned to his right to catch the pitch and his right leg bent awkwardly.

Guerrero hurried to assist him, but after lifting Baylor to his feet, the hitting coach’s leg buckled on his first step. Two men then helped Baylor to the dugout.

“When I saw him try to get up, (Baylor’s) a pretty tough guy, I knew it was pretty serious,” Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick said. “To see something like that happen to a good person like (Baylor), it’s always tough.”